Uptown, WaterTower, Classical Acting delivered the best theater of 2006

“Pageant” was one of two Uptown Players productions to be singled out as one of the top 10 shows of 2006.

Two secrets about the inner lives of critics: First, they think top-10, year-end, best-of lists are impossible to compile, artistically senseless and a little silly.

Second, they love to do them anyway.

Putting together a top 10 list is a ritual reminder of what's great about the fields we cover. After weeks of chirpy Christmas shows or yet more Shakespeare revivals or lame comedies, it's nice to look back on the year and recall what was exciting. And it's what keeps you coming back for more.

Lists also tend to be appallingly inadequate and slightly political. The final list can't include only splashy musicals or campy farces or much as you might want to productions starring Denise Lee and directed by Rene Moreno. (They actually teamed up together twice recently and neither show made it to the list.) Indeed, several interesting shows ("No Exit," "I Am My Own Wife," "The Crucible," "Eat the Runt") just missed recognition, if only to comply with the silly, self-imposed "10" limitation.

Classical Acting Company nearly folded in 2006. Good thing they didn’t, as “Every Trick in the Book” ended up the comic delight of the fall.

But all the productions listed here were worth a trip to the theater. They energized or surprised or challenged their audiences in unique ways that made the season memorable, often pushing patrons to reconsider their expectations. After all, when a musical named for a bodily fluid makes critics stand up and cheer, you know the rules have changed.

Here, then, from 10th to the top:

10. Zero (independently produced). Playwright and star Danny O'Connor's one-man show was a scorchingly funny and well-conceived ditty about how men relate to one another. It was astonishingly wise and free of Gen Y cliches.

9. Raw Vision (Kitchen Dog Theater). Kitchen Dog gets props for taking risks on new plays every year. But Leslie A. Wade's "Raw Vision" is one reason why they are right to do so. It was an analysis of not only art, but the art world, told from the unlikely viewpoint of a mentally retarded genius and those in his orbit. The tone was atmospheric and sexy.

8. The Gnadiges Fraulein (WingSpan Theatre Co.). This peculiar little short play by Tennessee Williams was so bizarre, it would be nearly impossible not to love something about it. Rene Moreno directed Susan Sargeant, Lulu Ward and Beverly Jacob Daniel in a trio of kooky feminist roles, and added a little man-candy from Jeff Swearingen and Joel McDonald, just for window-dressing (or undressing, if you wanna be completely accurate).

WaterTower Theatre’s “Urinetown,” which recently dominated the Leon Rabin Awards, deserved its accolades — it was the best show of 2006.

7. The Women (Contemporary Theatre of Dallas). Clare Boothe Luce's bitchy, remarkably modern portrait of female politics social and sexual boasted a large, strong cast given deliciously bitchy dialogue, especially Marisa Diotalevi and Morgana Shaw in two of the most enjoyably droll performances of the year.

6. Pageant (Uptown Players). This one could have been called "The Sort-Of Women," in which men dressed in drag but playing "natural-born females" compete in a beauty contest. Audience participation was part of the fun, but the cast (Doug Miller, John Garcia, Cameron McElyea, William Blake, Chris Robinson, Michael Moore and Jim Lindsay) and director (Coy Covington) sold the camp brilliantly.

5. Vieux Carre (Theatre Three). Another Tennessee Williams play he was everywhere this year and one that almost stands as the apotheosis of all the qualities we associate with him: baroque humor, gruesome imagery, intense emotions. This rarely performed late work was creepy, funny and endlessly entertaining.

4. The Rocky Horror (Puppet) Show (Quad C). This adaptation of the outrageous rock musical about outer space transsexuals got a jolt in the arm with the addition of a tremendous cast of full-sized puppets and a droll, scathing use of George W. Bush impersonator as The Criminologist. It's another element of proof that Collin County Community College may have the best theater program in the country.

3. Valhalla (Uptown Players). Paul Rudnick's plays tend to work in broad strokes, but often fall flat when they aim for emotional resonance. Whether "Valhalla" is better than most of Rudnick's other plays or simply benefited from an adept performance by B.J. Cleveland, this time-traveling queer historical romance had jokes aplenty, lovely drama and even nudity. What's not to like?

2. Every Trick in the Book (Classical Acting Company). Farce either works well or not at all. And "not at all" is frequently what audiences have to suffer through. But Regan Adair nimbly directed a terrific slate of actors in one of the most gorgeously appointed shows of the year (the costumes routinely got ovations) and also the funniest bedroom comedy in a long while.

1. Urinetown (WaterTower Theatre). Rolicking fun, politically incorrect (or is it?) and teeming with more hummable songs than a Nat King Cole Christmas album, "Urinetown" is still an unlikely formula for a hit musical. But WaterTower's production, loosed by director James Paul Lemons with furious comedic energy, was the succes de scandale of the season.


ACTOR OF THE YEAR

In some incredibly important ways, the mark of a terrific actor isn't one who succeeds in great plays but who overcomes mediocre ones. Queen Elizabeth I, Truman Capote and Vito Corleone are just some of the characters that have brought acclaim to their portrayers, even when the productions they have appeared in have varied wildly in quality.

Dallas has many excellent actors. Most of the cast members in "Pageant," "The Women" and "Urinetown" brought their skills strongly to the fore in memorable ensembles; Ted Wold jolted life into a disappointing "Take Me Out;" B.J. Cleveland had chillingly good moments in "Valhalla," and his co-star John de los Santos did his best work ever; Chad Peterson made "Thrill Me" close to thrilling; Tina Parker was hissingly effective in "No Exit;" and Marco Rodriguez was tops in "Cloud Tectonics" and "A Midsummer Night's Dream."

But no one delivered the goods like Nye Cooper. This time last year, he was still milking laughs out of his fifth season with "The Santaland Diaries," but went on to two very different plays the comedy-drama "Dim All the Lights" and the farce "Rumors" (pictured, with Ginger Goldman) where his performances soared above all else. Especially in "Dim," which just concluded its run at the Bath House Cultural Center, Cooper displayed a ravaging rawness that made it impossible to look away.

Anyone who can go from comedic monologue to slapstick to aching schizophrenia in one season, always elevating the productions he appears in, deserves special recognition as the top actor of 2006.

Arnold Wayne Jones





This article appeared in the Dallas Voice print edition, December 22, 2006.